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Of course I neglected to take photos throughout the build process yet again.  Who hasn't seen a Clod build though :)   Have had the chassis for a little while now and finally started putting everything together a week or so ago.  Was planning on taking my time, but have a race coming up this weekend and really want to run the truck, so painted a body in a rush and will work on cleaning up the wiring later on.

For anyone not interested in reading every little detail, the Regulator chassis and steering kits are nice pieces.  The truck is downright uneventful to drive, which is a good thing if you've ever spent any time behind the wheel of a Clod and thought, "How the heck could anyone actually race one of these things...".  It's always planted, jumps neutral and lands flat and the suspension does not roll when turning thanks to the super low COG.  One neat little thing that I wasn't expecting was that the body mounts are in the exact same position as a Clod so you can use existing bodies.  I wish I thought about this before, would have just run a body I had lying around and not rushed to paint this one.  The one thing to keep in mind with this chassis is the limited space for battery/electronics.  You have to run a shorty Lipo that gets mounted in the bottom of the chassis plate.  I have seen guys run the electronics down there with the battery, but it was a bit too cramped for me.  Made a 3D printed plate that mounts between the chassis rails for the ESC & Receiver.  Not much weight in those so doens't bother me having them up high. 

On to the details:

Axles > Nothing special here, just stock Clod with open diffs and a tiny bit of cera grease.  Started with all new plastics so hopefully won't have to worry about breakage for a while, but gear set is an original since Tamiya hasn't run a batch in a while and they're hard to find at the moment without buying a new kit.  Motors are 27t JConcepts Silent Speed sealed end bell (must be sealed 27t to run Retro) and they seem like nice pieces.  Even with the extra weight the truck moves pretty good, better than the Axial 27t motors in my stock chassis retro racer.  Will lift the front wheels up about 2 inches on a full throttle take off.  Robinson Racing 13t (stock) steel pinions and aluminum axle braces are the only other modifications to the axles.

Shocks > Stock Tamiya TXT-2 shocks with stock springs on the inner set only.  Using 3-hole pistons with 20wt Losi oil, suspension is very soft and seems perfect from the limited run time I have so far.  

Steering > JConcepts Regulator steering kit.  Was going to run vertical mount servos but after installing this kit in my other truck it seemed a shame to not use it again, it really is a nice piece.  Running front steer only with a rear lockout and a DS3218 Pro servo.  With stock Clod wheels I was unable to get away with 2WS on my other truck, but the Tributes with the smallest adapter (11mm) give just slightly more throw than the stock Clod setup that I am satisfied with the steering throw on the front tires only.  We'll see how it goes in racing, really hoping I can leave it like this, truck is so much easier to drive with 2WS.  

Wheels/Tires > JConcepts Tribute with blue compound Golden Years tires and cut Pro Line foams.

Body > JConcepts 88 Chevy Silverado with MCI USA-1 decals.  Was going back and forth between mounting a light bar or the racer back and decided on the racer back for now.  I have other ideas for bodies, just happened to have this one lying around along with Tamiya PS white and the decals so this will do for now.  It's basically the truck that was half-built in the 90 season and was never finished or run after Jasmer left the sport.  Always thought it was a cool story, the body is sitting on the original tube chassis in his shop to this day, still unfinished and will probably never be completed.  

 

That's really it, not much to a retro race Clod.  Excited to get it out this weekend and see how it does.  It runs like its on rails, really is a nice chassis.  The giant brass plate in the belly keeps the COG as low as possible and it shows in the performance, the truck is very composed and stable at all times.  I see a lot of guys run these with stock shocks but I like the oil shock/cut foam setup for now.  I've driven a few with the stock setup and this truck feels better and definitley lands better, no bounce at all.  

 

 

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7 hours ago, Mr. Horsepower said:

Great looking rig!

What's the top speed in a long straight line run with that motor and gearing?

Good question...I have no clue :)  I'm not good at guessing RC speed so I won't even hazard to guess.  Probably very similar to a stock Clod I'd imagine since the gearing is stock and motors are 27t.  They do feel a bit stronger in the punch department, but not sure on top speed.  

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Wait, the racerback on that JConcepts body is a separate piece? Interesting....

Oh, truck looks great!

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On 3/24/2022 at 4:36 AM, 87lc2 said:

Shocks > Stock Tamiya TXT-2 shocks with stock springs on the inner set only.  Using 3-hole pistons with 20wt Losi oil, suspension is very soft and seems perfect from the limited run time I have so far. 

 

Is there a way to buy them besides the Kit??

I would love to get some Tamiyashocks for my Clod, i do not find some decent cheap shocks, i would love to get 110mm shocks with inner springs.

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Nice looking rig!  I do like the look of the Regulator, that's the sort of thing I was going for with my custom chassis clod, I might have to redesign mine with a more classic look :)

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9 hours ago, markbt73 said:

Wait, the racerback on that JConcepts body is a separate piece? Interesting....

Oh, truck looks great!

Yup!  The JConcepts bodies with racer backs & visors come as separate pieces.  Kind of a pain to cut and trim but I'm starting to really like them and have used on a few trucks recently.  I usually just 3M tape them on so I can remove if I want to, but since this particular one has no flat piece on the bottom rail I used two M3 screws through the back window of the truck.  They're hidden pretty well.

7 hours ago, whahooo said:

 

Is there a way to buy them besides the Kit??

I would love to get some Tamiyashocks for my Clod, i do not find some decent cheap shocks, i would love to get 110mm shocks with inner springs.

I don't believe so.  I have a few extra sets lying around since I've bought any that came up for sale over the past few years.  Also got a set from a forum member a few months back, these are from his truck.  I like them because the springs are about as soft as you can get for the size.  I will say they are a bit shorter than stock Clod shocks even with the longer bottom mounts that I used from the TXT-2 parts tree.  Makes the truck sit a bit lower than it would which is perfect for me.  

4 hours ago, Mad Ax said:

Nice looking rig!  I do like the look of the Regulator, that's the sort of thing I was going for with my custom chassis clod, I might have to redesign mine with a more classic look :)

Yea, its a nice looking and performing chassis.  I still think its a bit over priced, but no complaints on quality or performance.  The biggest thing is that huge brass weight in the bottom of the chassis.  I assume you could simulate that with another form of weight low in the chassis for your custom truck and would probably peform very similarly.  

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Looks cool. Did you chop bits off the knuckles and rails to improve the steering, like JC suggest?

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1 minute ago, J@mes said:

Looks cool. Did you chop bits off the knuckles and rails to improve the steering, like JC suggest?

Yes, chopped the front knuckles pretty good.  Otherwise it would barely steer at all.  Here's a picture from my other thread on the knuckle chop.  Red line shows where the original knuckle would have been.  

I've only run these two trucks with the JC steering kit briefly, but I've actually never had a knuckle break on the arm part (they usually break near the screws that attach it to the axle tube) so I think they'll be OK.  Taking both trucks with the JC steering on them racing this weekend so I guess we'll find out!   Definitely going to have a few spare knuckles in the tool box just in case.  Now that I think about it I should probably pre-trim a few since a stock knuckle would be quite useless with this steering setup...Thanks for making me think about it :)  

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Took the truck racing today and all I can say is...wow!  I don't know if its the chassis, shock setup, or tire/foam setup (or a combination of everything), but this truck is absolutely fantastic.  I can't even describe how well this truck performed, it absolutely blew everyone else away.  There are some fast guys we run with and it wasn't even close.  The way the truck puts the power down, jumps & lands, and the overall composure is like nothing I've ever experienced with a retro race truck.  We ran a tight oval with two jumps per side, started opposite directions and ran 2 laps per heat.  In the first race with this truck I nearly caught the other truck on the second lap, that just doesn't happen with retro trucks.  And no, it's not my driving, its all in the truck :)  

When I first ran the truck at home I was thinking it definitely wasn't worth the cost of the chassis, figured my Mountain Monster ran just as well.  I couldn't have been more wrong, this truck is just another level.  I do think the JConcepts 27t motors helped also...Have a feeling they just have 27t labels on them, this truck was fast.  Lifted the tires about 2-3" off the ground for about 3 feet at the start of the race.  Cool thing was the truck stayed dead straight and just rode the wheelie like all four tires were on the ground.  Had to show everyone the motor labels, it definitley looked (and felt) like I was cheating.  Even with slower motors it wouldn't have mattered, there wasn't a truck there that was going to beat this thing.  

At the end of the day this truck took 1st in retro and the Mountain Monster took 2nd.  Although, going from the Regulator to the Mountain Monster was like going from a Corvette to a lifted pickup, that truck just feels awful now....but it was a good day all around.  Took 2nd in Pro Mod with my SMT10 Digger 20.  The only Tamiya I ran in Pro Mod this time was my old TXT-2/Clod Excaliber truck and it was just outclassed.  Not only was it slow, but it has some weird handling dynamics.  I built it about 8 years ago so think I'll put some work into it and try to make it competitive, it is a great looking truck and different from everything else out there, I like that.  

Also got a cool shot of my trucks waiting to race under a Tamiya banner :)  

In conclusion for the Regulator Chassis - If you race retro get one.  If not racing then probably no need for it.  It's actually not that fun to drive at all, which is what makes it so good.  I'll probably never run this truck in the yard for fun, would much rather just run a stock Clod for that purpose. 

 

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On 3/27/2022 at 2:38 AM, 87lc2 said:

Took the truck racing today and all I can say is...wow!  I don't know if its the chassis, shock setup, or tire/foam setup (or a combination of everything),

In conclusion for the Regulator Chassis - If you race retro get one.  If not racing then probably no need for it.  It's actually not that fun to drive at all, which is what makes it so good.  I'll probably never run this truck in the yard for fun, would much rather just run a stock Clod for that purpose. 

 

I reckon you must have got the setup bang on - I've never considered adding a second set of shocks with no springs for extra damping - I bet that really soaks up the bounce!

I think I had already reached the same conclusion about the regulator with out even having seen one in the flesh! Everything I've seen on youtube and read in forums leads to that same conclusion - it's expensive. but if you're racing retro class and you want to be competitive...

When I bought my Clod - I really wanted to get a regulator and do the conversion... But we don't really have anyone doing Monster Truck racing here in the UK, there are lots of local clubs and tracks doing buggy racing and carpet road racing... But my skill set is more heavily rooted in BMX track and Back Garden bashing! I can't even get one lap of a track in with out ending up in the wall... So I thought that Retro class or something similar would be perfect - one or two laps or even a straight line drag over some jumps - I might actually be in with a chance of finishing!

Anyways - congrats on the great trophy haul!

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Thanks @paullyjay and you are 100% correct about the Regulator - If you are racing retro competitively its a no brainer, but if not racing its also a no brainer to pass on it.  As happy as I am with the truck, if I weren't racing it I'd probably never run it.  It's not that fun to drive (just too easy...) and I hate the battery setup in it.  I run a shorty 120C 2S Lipo in the bottom of the cradle and you need a 5.5mm nut driver to secure the battery.  I put it in before the first round and it stays in the truck until the end, swapping batteries is a pain.  I'd never want to bother with that for just fun running in the yard.  The biggest thing you could do to a stock Clod to get near the performance is put a lot of weight in the bottom of the chassis, that's what really makes the Regulator so good. 

I do think mine is setup better than most, there was another Regulator at the race and mine performed much better.  His was running stock Clod shocks and tires without foams (basically a stock Clod kit with a Regulator chassis).  Not nearly as bouncy as a stock Clod, but definitely took longer to get the power down.  People were interested in the setup which was nice, it took me 5 minutes to explain what the shocks were on the truck, nobody quite understood what a TXT-2 even was let alone why half of them were missing springs :)  To be honest, the truck would do just fine with just the sprung units, the spring-less dampers are just there to balance out the looks.  They have 15wt oil in them and are setup with no rebound so they literally do nothing.  Maybe a bit of extra damping but can't be much.  The tire/foam setup is key as well.  I was a bit worried about running the Blue compound tires on carpet but they were fantastic.  Good to know I can just leave these on there for carpet & dirt.  

As far as monster racing in general, it's just so much fun.  I hope you guys can get something going on that side of the pond, seems there's some interest.  I no longer race buggy or short course truck because this is so much better.  Every truck is different, the racing is more unpredictable, and it's a more laid back atmosphere compared to competitive 10th scale racing around here.  Its not easy over here either though, this indoor race I've done the past couple of months is 2 hours away from me.  In the summer outdoor racing is about an hour away, and bigger races are about 4 hours away.  Its worth it for me, but I can definitely understand why that puts some people off.  Ends up turning into a whole day no matter what.  

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